Join us June 3rd for our Slow Session at Habitat Suites. Jeff Paine of Break It Down will be dishing out the dirt on what is happening on the local compost scene. Learn about how you can get involved in composting at home and what’s on the horizon in the field of composting. Plus, everyone who comes will get to take home some wiggly workers to do the grunt work in your compost pile!

Spring on out of your house Thursday, April 1st at 7pm for a Slow Session on Sprouts. Join us as we learn about this simple superfood from PermaCulture extraordinaire, Doc JODY. In addition to expanding our knowledge of sprouts, Doc JODY will show us how to grow organic sprouts and delight us with some of her original recipes. So come on out, propagate a new friendship or encourage a buddy to come along. Also, there will be a special give away to whoever brings the most creative dish with sprouts to share – so start conjuring up those recipes!

Join us March 4th at Flatbed Press for our Slow Food session on Sustainable Sourcing. The event will be a unique opportunity to start an ongoing community dialog about sourcing and to build relationships that will link us together as a food community. The session will be moderated with a panel of three local food industry professionals: a farmer, a chef, and a buyer/forager.

We have all seen it slipping more and more into the menus of Austin’s local restaurants. You can usually spot those small words, “local” in the description of the item, but what does it mean? Was every ounce of your tender buffalo steak, braised greens and roasted potatoes from the farm or was it merely the parsley on top? Is the big restaurant trend for local sourcing a fad that chefs can easily whip up, or does it require a complete shift in the running of the kitchen? Moreover, what does local mean, and does it guarantee that the food is grown in a sustainable manner?

Join us March 4th at Flatbed Press for our Slow Food session on Sustainable Sourcing. The event will be a unique opportunity to start an ongoing community dialog about sourcing and to build relationships that will link us together as a food community. The session will be moderated with a panel of three local food industry professionals: a farmer, a chef, and a buyer/forager. Please bring your questions and if you like, a dish to share, because we might not all be foragers but we are definitely all eaters!

About the Panel

Buyer/Forager: Valerie Broussard
A Louisiana native, Valerie spent 11 years in New York City as a recipe tester, chef, food stylist, and writer. She moved to Austin following a year abroad in Parma, Italy where she completed an MA in Food Culture and Communications from the University of Gastronomic Sciences. She is currently the Organic Food Coordinator at Barr Mansion and volunteers as Slow Food Austin’s Biodiversity Chair.

Farmer: Erin Flynn
A writer and farmer, Erin and her husband Skip Connett run Green Gate Farms, a historic farm, eight miles east of downtown Austin. Erin is dedicated to connecting the community to local agriculture through their farm and events.

Title: broaden your horizonsLocation: zhi tea galleryDescription: Come join us on February 4th at 7:00 for our Slow Session with tea master Jeffery Lorien from Zhi Tea. Jeffery will enlighten and guide us on the through the world of tea varieties one sip at a time. By learning about the wisdom (Zhi) behind these teas you can turn the process of preparing your own teas into a daily ritual that will allow you to take a few moments to heighten your senses and to steep in the enjoyment that comes from your tasting experience. Discover why Jeffery has fallen in love with tea and don’t be surprised if you get hit with cupid’s tea arrow as well!Start Time: 07:00Date: 2010-02-04End Time: 09:00

Join Slow Food Austin and the Austin Permaculture Guild at the Barr Mansion, for a community potluck celebrating local food, and a presentation about Citizen Gardener, one of the best things to happen to Austin gardeners in a long time.

Got a dish for 6-8 that you’re proud of? Make it with local ingredients? Consider it your ticket to this potluck in the glass barn behind the Barr Mansion, a beautiful landmark event destination.

During the evening Austin Permaculture Guild will launch its latest class of certified permaculture graduates, and APG director Dick Pierce will present a slideshow about Citizen Gardener, a how-to-garden-in-Austin program.

Description: Learn how easy it is to cure your own bacon at home in this delicious Slow Session led by Slow Food Austin’s Marshall Wright and Preservation Bacon’s Greg Bass.Start Time: 07:00Date: 2009-11-05End Time: 09:00

How good can chicken be? Austin will soon find out. Jules Assata and Sue Beckwith of Shades of Green Farm have begun raising birds that meet their own deliciously high culinary standards. What’s more, they’ll be the only certified organic meat chickens raised in Texas. Join Slow Food Austin for our October Slow Session and learn about Sue and Jules’ Bastrop farm and their personal journey leaping regulation and production hurdles that don’t do much to help our small farmers or those of us who love good food.

October Slow SessionThe Best Chicken You’ve Never Had – Shades of Green Farm

How good can chicken be? Austin will soon find out. Jules Assata and Sue Beckwith of Shades of Green Farm have begun raising birds that meet their own deliciously high culinary standards. What’s more, they’ll be the only certified organic meat chickens raised in Texas.

Jules and Sue are raising Colored and Freedom Rangers, chicken breeds developed from heritage stock to be delicious and to thrive on traditional free range – NOT bred to bulk up fast or tolerate factory living conditions that would make a mother hen cry, like the ubiquitous Cornish Cross found in every grocery store, fast food joint and high-end eatery. In fact, these varieties were developed specifically to meet the very high standards of the French Label Rouge Program. And, while Shades of Green Farm is certified organic, the two women have been inspired by the European example to exceed the organic production standards in terms of stewardship of animal welfare and the environment.

Join Slow Food Austin for our October Slow Session and learn about Sue and Jules’ Bastrop farm and their personal journey leaping regulation and production hurdles that don’t do much to help our small farmers or those of us who love good food. As always, the session will be free. Light refreshments will be served; feel free to bring something to share.

Cheese-maker Scott Evans of Austin Homebrew Supply gives us the basics on home cheesemaking, cheese history and sourcing ingredients. All Slow Food Austin Slow Sessions are free-of-charge so come on out and learn how to make your own cheese!

September Slow SessionCheese-making at Home: An introduction to technique, flavor, and great ingredients

UPDATE:
Everyone – thank you for the OVERWHELMING response to our Slow Session this month! People do love their cheese. We have received well over 60 RSVP’s and that puts us AT CAPACITY – STANDING ROOM ONLY!

Next month’s session will be equally as amazing and we can’t wait to see you there!

Cheese is one of life’s great and versatile pleasures. In a grilled sandwich, cheese is at its most comforting. Paired with wine it shows layers of complexity. Cheese can surprise the palate too: a fresh cheese that bursts with grassy flavor, or warms with the essence of chocolate.

Our September slow session introduces you to making great cheese in your own home. Led by cheese-maker and teacher Scott Evans of Austin Homebrew Supply, this session will cover the basics of home cheese-making, offer a bit of cheese history, and discuss sourcing ingredients. Scott will bring some of his cheeses to sample, and participants will leave with their own starter that can be finished at home.

We will provide light refreshments, but feel free to bring a beverage or snack to share.

Ever wondered how winemaking is done and what you need to get started? Slow Food Austin invites you to attend the monthly Slow Session and find out.

Winemaking: How To Do It, Who To Do It With
Ever wondered how winemaking is done and what you need to get started? Slow Food Austin invites you to attend the monthly Slow Session and find out. Our speaker will be John “JB” Brack, of Austin Homebrew Supply. He regularly leads winemaking classes and will cover the major points, including the special challenges of winemaking in central Texas. Free lecture for foodies and do-it-yourselfers of all stripes.